U.S. patent number 4,119,339 [Application Number 05/721,975] was granted by the patent office on 1978-10-10 for vehicle undercarriage air deflector.
Invention is credited to Arthur Sherman Heimburger.
United States Patent |
4,119,339 |
Heimburger |
October 10, 1978 |
Vehicle undercarriage air deflector
Abstract
A rectangular panel is hingedly mounted to the lower edge of the
front bumper of a motor vehicle of the high road clearance variety.
Mechanical hand crank means, and power driven means are disclosed
for raising and lowering the panel as desired. The panel is
swingable upwardly and rearwardly from the hinged mounting.
Inventors: |
Heimburger; Arthur Sherman
(Nashville, IN) |
Family
ID: |
24900026 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/721,975 |
Filed: |
September 10, 1976 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
296/180.5;
180/903 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B62D
35/005 (20130101); Y10S 180/903 (20130101); Y02T
10/82 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B62D
35/00 (20060101); B62D 035/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;296/1S,91 ;180/1FV
;105/2R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Pekar; John A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Woodard, Weikart, Emhardt &
Naughton
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An undercarriage air deflector apparatus comprising:
an elongated panel having hinge means along a marginal edge thereof
adapted to attachment to a lower portion of a vehicle ahead of a
vehicle front wheel suspension member;
first bracket means connectable to the lower portion of the vehicle
ahead of a front wheel suspension member and having bearing means
therein;
drive shaft means supported in said bearing means and having a
drive pinion thereon;
second bracket means connectable to the lower portion of the
vehicle ahead of a vehicle front wheel suspension member;
rocker shaft means mounted in said second bracket means and
including a rocker shaft extending parallel to said panel;
operating arm means connected to said rocker shaft means and to
said panel for pivoting said panel about said hinge means as said
rocker shaft means is turned; and
a drive gear on said rocker shaft means engaged by said pinion and
thereby operable upon rotation of said drive shaft means to turn
said rocker shaft means for pivoting said panel about said hinge
means.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
said drive shaft means include an electric motor output shaft.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
said drive shaft means include a hand crankshaft.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
said rocker shaft means include a shear pin shearable upon turning
of said rocker shaft means independent of said drive gear.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:
said operating arm means include at least two arms transversely
affixed to said shaft in locations spaced longitudinally along said
shaft, and at least two links, each link having one end pivotally
connected to one of said arms at a location remote from the rocker
shaft axis and the other end pivotally connected to said panel
remote from said hinge means.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 and further comprising:
said motor vehicle having front wheels and rear wheels and frame
means supported by said wheels and a passenger compartment
supported by said frame means,
said hinge means being connected to said frame means ahead of said
front wheels, and said panel being pivotally operable about the
axis of said hinge means between an active, substantially vertical
air-deflecting attitude, and a passive, substantially horizontal
attitude, by rotation of said drive shaft means.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein, when said panel is in said
active attitude, said hinge means are along an upper marginal edge
of said panel, and said arm means are connected to the rear of said
panel below said hinge means whereby said panel is pivotable
upwardly and rearwardly from said active attitude toward said front
wheels.
8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said drive shaft means has a
handcrank portion thereon in said passenger compartment.
9. In a motor vehicle having a body with a passenger compartment
therein, an underside and front and rear wheels for rolling on a
road surface and supporting the body, and undercarriage having
portions connecting the front wheels to the body, the improvement
comprising:
an air deflector mounted to a lower portion of said body ahead of
said front wheels and having a retracted position and a deployed
position, and having a first portion and a second portion and
having hinge means connecting said first portion thereof to said
body;
said deflector being oriented in said retracted position to extend
generally parallel to the underside of said body from a beginning
at said first portion rearward to an end at said second portion and
thereby exposing said undercarriage to headwinds;
and actuator means connected to said deflector and to said body and
operable, when actuated, to swing said second portion downward from
said body and forward to said deployed position wherein said
deflector extends non-paralel to the underside of said body and in
front of said undercarriage for deflecting the air downwardly and
outwardly and thereby shielding said undercarriage from
headwinds.
10. The improvement of claim 9 wherein:
said actuator means include manually operable drive means extending
from inside said passenger compartment to said deflector for
swinging the deflector between said positions for adjusting the
degree of deployment of said deflector.
11. The improvement of claim 9 wherein:
said actuator means includes power drive means mounted to said body
and coupled to said deflector for driving the deflector between
said positions for adjusting the degree of deployment of said
deflector.
12. The improvement of claim 9 wherein:
said body includes a front bumper having a top and bottom, and said
deflector is a panel and said hinge means is connected to said
bottom of the bumper and to said first portion of said deflector,
said first portion being a marginal portion of said panel, whereby
said panel is hinged to the bottom of said front bumper.
13. The improvement of claim 12 and further comprising:
first bracket means mounted to said body behind said bumper;
second bracket means mounted to said body behind said bumper;
said actuator means including a panel operating shaft mounted in
said second bracket means parallel to said panel and having panel
operating arm means connected to said shaft and extending forward
from said shaft and connected to said panel;
and said actuator means further including operating shaft drive
means mounted to said first bracket means and coupled to said
operating shaft to drive said operating shaft.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to motor vehicles, and
particularly to air flow controls for deflecting air from the
undercarriage of a passenger car or truck.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various devices have been invented for use with motor vehicles to
control air flow, exhaust gas flow, spray, dust, and splash; and
there is even a patent showing use of fluid flow associated with
the wheels to avoid hydroplaning. Other devices have been invented
for controlling wind effects on the vehicle, and some have been
invented for increasing wheel loading as a result of air flow
effects, in order to improve steering and roadability thereof at
high speeds which might otherwise cause steering problems at high
speeds for smooth bottom automobiles. United States and foreign
patents and an item of literature showing one or more of the
aforementioned types of devices are as follows:
U.s. pat. Nos.:
1,425,448, Carroll
1,543,877, Saunders
2,036,560, Backus
3,243,192, Franzel
3,348,873, Saunders
3,544,370, Wrede
3,618,998, Swauger
3,743,343, Grote, Sr., et al.
3,776,587, Oxlade
3,869,617, Gaussoin et al.
3,524,672, Rawlings
Foreign Patents:
British Pat. No. 443,903
French Pat. No. 1,166,479
Italy Pat. No. 560,498
Italy Pat. No. 560,594
Journal:
Commercial Car Journal, April, 1955, pp. 30, 210
In recent years, there has been increasing interest and marketing
of vehicles which are operable not only on comparatively rough
roads and cross country, but also at comparatively high speeds on
the highway. Such vehicles typically have high road clearance with
the result that a comparatively large frontal area of undercarriage
is exposed to the wind during highway operation. Accordingly they
have been characterized by comparatively poor fuel economy. The
present invention is addressed to that problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Described briefly, in a typical embodiment of the present
invention, an air deflector is pivotally mounted to the front of
the vehicle ahead of the undercarriage and is provided with means
for retracting it from a deployed position in which it is active
and deflects air sidewards and downward from ahead of the
undercarriage, to a retracted position where it is out of the way
for driving in areas where there is the possibility of interference
with road hazards such as curbs, rocks, or simply the high crown in
the center of a country road. Powered and manual means may be
employed for movement of the air deflector between its active and
passive positions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a high road clearance type of
passenger vehicle having the air deflector thereon deployed in its
active position according to a typical embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 1, but showing the air
deflector retracted to its passive position.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the air deflector retracted as seen
from the rear and on a larger scale than in FIGS. 1 and 2, and with
the major portion of the vehicle omitted in order to show the
construction and mounting details to the bottom of the front
bumper.
FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the unit in the
active position.
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing a motor drive
instead of a hand crank drive for the air deflector.
FIG. 6 is a front view of the vehicle with the deflector in its
passive position, but showing it fully deployed in two possible
widths in dotted and dashed lines.
FIG. 7 is a side view thereof.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings in detail, and particularly FIG. 1,
the passenger automobile 11 of the carryall type has a front bumper
12 with the air deflector 13 hinged to the bottom edge thereof at
14 and 16 and shown in the fully deployed active position. FIG. 2
shows the air deflector retracted so as to avoid curbs or other
road hazards which are not ordinarily encountered on the high speed
highway, but can be frequently encountered in city, country road,
or cross country driving.
As shown in FIG. 3, the front bumper 12 is mounted at the front
ends of the left and right front bumper mounts 17 and 18 which are
connected by suitable means to the front ends of the left and right
frame side members 19 and 21, respectively. The bumper mounting
means and bumper itself may be entirely conventional; and one of
the important advantages of the present invention is the fact that
it can be employed on a very conventional vehicle.
A drive shaft bracket 22 is mounted to the front bumper and has a
bearing 23 at the lower end thereof receiving the front end of the
deflector panel operating shaft 24. The shaft has a hand crank 26
at the rear end thereof which can be located in the passenger
compartment within easy access to the driver. The shaft has a
pinion 27 thereon engaging gear 28 connected through a shear pin 29
to the rock shaft 31 which may be mounted in pillow blocks 30
fastened to the bottoms of members 19. Panel operating arms 32
connected to the shaft 31 have links 33 connecting them to panel
brackets 34 secured to the panel itself. Accordingly, rotation of
the hand crank 26 in one direction by the driver sitting in the
front seat of the car, will be effective to raise the panel, and
rotation of the hand crank in the opposite direction by the driver
of the car will be effective to lower the panel. The hand crank may
project directly out of the instrument panel 36 adjacent the
steering column 37 for convenience.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the embodiment of the
deflector panel 43 wherein a bracket 44 is mounted to the bumper
and supports an electric motor 46 having a drive shaft 47 with a
pinion 48 thereon driving the gear 28 connected through a suitable
shear pin to the rock shaft 31 for operating the deflector 43.
The air deflection device is intended to direct the flow of air
away from the undercarriage of the vehicle. It can be adjusted to
various angles between the fully active deployed position in which
it is vertical up and down, and the retracted passive position in
which it is substantially horizontal. It can be adjusted to any
angle between the fully up and fully down position depending upon
the speeds and road conditions expected. The shear pin is provided
as a safety measure so that in the event that an obstruction in the
path of the vehicle is hit by the panel, the shear pin will be
broken and the panel deflected upwardly without destruction of any
of the components other than the shear pin. Means other than a
shear pin could be employed to serve this purpose.
The objective being to force air flow downward and outward away
from the underside of the vehicle, and the means employed for
accomplishing this objective being readily adaptable to various
types of vehicles, it should be recognized that it can be mounted
on trucks as well as on passenger cars and can prove quite
beneficial on any vehicle having comparatively high road clearance
such as to expose fairly large frontal areas of undercarriage to
the wind at highway speeds. It is not intended that the deflector
be swung forward to a position such as to cause the wind to be
deflected upward and thereby tend to cause increased loading of the
front end of the vehicle.
It should be recognized that in addition to the hand crank or the
electric motor or both, for operating the deflector, hydraulic
actuators or other means might also be used. In addition to
reduction of turbulence and drag due to vehicle undercarriage, the
invention can also considerably reduce spray when the vehicle is
traveling over wet pavement. Spray reduction can be of considerable
assistance and thereby a safety benefit to a motorist following the
type of vehicle for which the present invention is intended
primarily, as such passenger vehicles with high road clearance are
not normally equipped with mud flaps.
The illustrated panel is of size such that as shown in the dashed
lines 13a in FIG. 6, the ends are inside the boundaries determined
by the inside edges of the front tires steered to the limit left
and right, for clearance when the panel is retracted. The bottom
edge 15 of the deployed panel as in FIG. 1 is about 5 inches above
the road surface. In vehicles where the distance from the hinge
axis to the bottom edge of the panel is less than the distance from
the hinge axis to the front tires, as shown in FIG. 7, the panel
can be wide enough to extend in front of the front tires as shown
in dotted lines 13b by the wider version of the panel in FIG. 6.
For best results, the deployed panel should extend below the level
of the undercarriage. The closer the lower edge is to the road, the
better the result that is expected, except that a clearance of less
than 2 or 3 inches may be too little, even for highway driving, if
encounters with stones or other road debris are to be avoided.
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